Blog

Before I started a training company or worked in the ad biz, I was among other things, a TV host. I got this gig by pitching some development ideas to a TV production company. Watching me do my thing, the President suddenly commented; “You know, you should be on camera.” Hell YEAH I should!! And thus my accidental TV career was born. But for however slick I might have been at ‘pitching’, I was in no way prepared for the challenges to come. Being on camera, especially live TV or multi-camera shoots, is still to-date the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But boy oh boy, were my learnings ever valuable… Read more >

Let’s face it – even a leader with a healthy ego knows he or she can’t succeed alone. Success depends a lot (maybe even entirely) on the performance of our people. So as ‘Wise Leaders’, we’re always keeping an eye on them – it’s a big part of our job. But what are we looking for? Our human tendency is to always be on the lookout for problems. In fact our brains are hardwired to be on guard for potential threats to our existence, which is why we survived as a species (thanks brain!). If you extend this into leadership, the perceived ‘threat’ can come in the form of a… Read more >

At the start of my workshops, I always ask the room to define the word ‘creativity’. Hands go up. “Thinking outside of the box!” someone always says. “How big is the box,” I ask, “and what defines what’s in or out of it”? This stops them in their tracks. Out of the box thinking is usually considered ‘something different or out of the norm’. But everyone’s norm is different. One person’s box may be another’s playground. It’s all about context and perspective – both key to harnessing and unleashing creativity. Imagine you work at Zappos, known for its freethinking and collective genius. You get asked to come up with even… Read more >